The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1908. THE TOURIST DEPARTMENT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 248, 19 October 1908, Page 4

The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1908. THE TOURIST DEPARTMENT.

' The Tourist Department, and the expenditvir© which it involves, often come iii foradverse criticism. Not long ago Mr A. L. D. Frager severely denounced the system under which so much public money is constantly being spent to make certain portions of New Zealand, attractive, to .the' visitor. Mr Fraser ought to' know what he is talking about, his position as Member for a district almost, if not quite, withitf the tourist territory, giving his remarks a weight which they might not otherwise possess. But it would appear that even Mr Fraser may sometimes be ell astray with his facts. The annual report of the department, which was presented to Parliament towards the end of the session, puts matters in a .Hght which leaves little justification far cavilling. According to this report the amount of money expended n the Dominion by tourists during the past year was estimated at £430,000, an increase over the previous year of £73,000, and an average increase of two years past of £36;500. This has taken place notwithstanding the fact that there has been a slight decrease in the traffic for the last year as compared with that of the previous year, when the Christchurch Exhibition was in fuJl swing. Another striking fact to the credit of the department is that there has been an increase of population of 5730 persons during the year, makjng a total of 57,502 for the past six year, the period the department has been in operation, as against 11,553 for the previous six years. The claim is made, and with some reason, I that the large amount of advertising which tourists give the country is responsible for a considerable percentage of the increase in immigration. The total direct revenue of the department for the year was £20,887 18s ■ 4d, as against £4401 Is 8d for: 1902-3. These figures show that there is ample justification for wise expenditure in continuing to advertise the attractions of the Dominion as a certain method of inducing an influx of visitors, a large proportion of whom may ultimately become permanent settlers. So long as this expenditure does not err on the side of extravagance, but is always governed by a careful estimate of the probable income to be derived from it, serious objection to the operations ofythe department need riot be made. In the report the Minister refers to the good work' 'done by "'-the'''opening of agencies, particularly' those at Sydney and* Melbourne. An important arrangement has also been made wi^h the Imperial Government to facilitate immigration of Civil and military employees in India to New Zealand. It has been the practice of the Imperial Government to pay the passages back to Great Britain of military and Civil officers, and men who have served their terms in India, should they desire to return to the Motherland. Arrangements have now been made with the Imperial Government to give the officer's and men the option of a free passage to New Zealand in lieu of returning to Great Britain. Many 6t these people retire on very comfortable pensions. The report of the General Manager shows that the 'department now controls the town of Rotorua, in the capacity of a corporate body, and an acclimatisation district with an area of 6000 square miles. It has under its control the management of nine accommodation houses, seven steamers and steam launches on lakes, two sanatoria, and a hospital, together with a number of mineral water spas, parks and pleasure grounds, and maintains many miles of roads and tracks. It has ten agencies within the Dominion, and oversea agencies at Sydney, Melbourne. Adelaide, and' Vancouver, also a literature distributing agency

at Fremantle. In the acclimatisation district, which extends from Rotorua to the Bay of Pienty on one side, and to HaAvke's Bay and Taupo on the other, a great deal of valuable work has been don© in the short time the Department has had control. The report states that 1,320,000 trout ova were successfully hatched and distributed during the season; nine re.l and two Sambur deer were imported and liberated, and 410 pheasants were reared, and liberated. The total cost of acclimatisation work amounted to £552 18s lOd. Particulars of othar work under the control of the department are detailed in the report, which furnishes a most interesting record of the doings of this important department of State.